SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- One player was a CFL standout who grinded to make the back end of the roster in August. The other rejoined the team two months ago as experienced depth at a position of need.

Receiver Dontrelle Inman and running back Ronnie Brown were unlikely contributors who made critical plays in Saturday's 38-35 comeback, overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers that gave the San Diego Chargers a chance to continue chasing postseason dreams with just a week left in the regular season.

Inman, 25, was active for just the sixth time this season due to Keenan Allen being out with a broken collarbone. Inman’s work ethic has been noted in the past. He’s usually the last one to leave the practice field during the week, getting in extra work with Eddie Royal on pass routes and catches on the JUGS machine. That work paid off Saturday.

After seeing minimal playing time early on, Inman was placed in the starting lineup to open the second half. And he responded with seven catches for 79 yards. The most critical catch came on a curl route on fourth-and-10 from San Francisco’s 26-yard line with less than a minute left in regulation for a 17-yard gain. The play set up Malcom Floyd's 11-yard touchdown catch that tied the game at 35-all, sending the contest into overtime.

“You never knew when he was going to get an opportunity to play,” Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said. “But he’s a guy every day that shows up and works his tail off, and it paid off.”

Added Inman: “It’s awesome to have a Hall of Fame quarterback trusting you. You can’t ask for anything better.”

Brown rejoined the Chargers in October as added depth with Ryan Mathews out because of a knee injury. Needing someone to grind out yards to close out the game Saturday night, the 33-year-old runner finished with 33 yards on seven carries, including 22 on the final drive of the game to put the Chargers in field goal position for Nick Novak's 40-yarder for the win.

“He just leads in there,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said about Brown. “He does his scout team work and just says, ‘When y’all need me, I’ll be there.’ And he had two big catches on the drive for the touchdown, and then he obviously closed the game out the way he ran the ball.”

Brown said he was just fulfilling his role on this football team Saturday.

“It’s a game of opportunities,” Brown said. “When your number is called, you want to go out and do whatever you can do to try and make the team better in whatever your role is, and try to do it to the best of your ability. I try and keep that mindset. And that’s the character of this football team.”